Chris Nolan's dialogue controversy: A shot in the foot?

Christopher Nolan's latest movie, Tenet, promised to be one of 2020s most successful films. Nolan, according to some people, “the rescuer of cinema in times of Netflix,” released an interesting film in terms of script narrative and photography but quite controversial when it comes to sound design; one of the points, in which has divided his audience the most in the past. After a spate of problematic films in this regard (The Dark Knight Rises, Interstellar, and Dunkirk,) Tenet is once again stirring up voices for and against the artistic choices of this successful director. Let's see what this controversy is all about.

One of the complicated aspects of this social media turmoil has to do with what is known as 'authorial choices,' that is, the long and intricate series of decisions that a creator makes to transform an idea (as well as all the elements of the language used - in this case, cinematographic,) and thus take it as close as possible to the work he has in mind. This decision making is mainly a design work, both in terms of content (plot, characters, theme, etc.) and form (art direction, photography, special effects, and, of course, sound). Everything counts. Everything is subject to a great communicative act.

Tenet's main issue, regarding the film's dialogue, is related to the clarity of the characters' voices when they interact during their conversations. For the audience, especially for Nolan lovers, understanding every line means a prerequisite for enjoying the whole aesthetic experience that a movie entails; and, when they come across an unintelligible dialogue, at first they look at whoever is sitting next to them to ask if they understood what a character just said, and then they think the movie has technical problems, but then they realize that this lack of clarity has been on purpose. Hence, they pick up their phone, and write something like this on Twitter:

Does Christopher Nolan need to see an ear doctor? Serious question... hearing MULTIPLE complaints about #Tenet regarding the sound mix, saying some scenes are impossible to hear the dialogue. I don't understand why this is a constant choice of his?

- Andy Signore (@andysignore) August 26, 2020

Those defending Nolan in this controversial claim say that audiences don't have to be spoon-fed; that there can be smart films forcing audiences to strain to understand and solve Nolan's Rubik cube - a common denominator in his career, like Memento or Inception. If the director wanted to steer the ship in that direction, to produce confusion not only from a cryptic plot but from the external elements of the film themselves, such as sound, one should not be so conservative about a technical aspect and understand instead that there is a whole concept behind it. After all, the film breaks certain basic principles of "good cinema," such as showing and not telling (which is reflected in many expository dialogues.) The lack of clarity of sound, in general, can also be part of his artistic proposal, not necessarily a mistake.

Furthermore, those who are familiar with Nolan's filmography know that he plays with elements such as sound. Bane's hazy voice in The Dark Knight Rises, the dialogues in Interstellar with an excess of background noise, as well as the combat scenes in Dunkirk, are some examples of what Nolan wants to offer: a sonic, almost tactile experience with sound. For him, some fragments of the film should be understood visually, whereas sound is an accessory element.

Read also: Immersive Audio: A step forward towards a moldable reality

However, his detractors consider this to be a complicated matter. The real problem lies not in the fact that there is a wonderful technology available, both for recording, mixing, and mastering sound, which has meant an enormous amount of research, effort, and money, but in the very fact that there are many resources at stake related to sound design in the movie, only to damage the clarity of it when it is most needed: in dialogues, especially when there is so much background noise. This would be the equivalent of finding a camera with a beautiful lens and powerful capabilities, and, after taking spectacular pictures, blurring and ruining all the work during the processing phase. Considering such an authorial decision, one wonders to what extent is it valid to damage things on purpose?

On the other hand, the film also helps us ask an important question in Covid's time: what is the point of leaving the comfort of our homes and driving to a movie theater? Is it only because of the sensory experience?

The truth is that, while for many people this sound aspect has been unbearable, for other viewers it has been quite the opposite, and they consider Tenet to be a masterpiece. Regardless of who is right, what is interesting here is the discussion that this blockbuster raised, as well as the questions that, from now on, directors and producers should answer when editing the sound of their works.